Microsoft says not part of broad government online monitoring

June 06, 2013|Reuters

SEATTLE, June 6 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp said onThursday it provides customer data to the U.S. government onlywhen it receives a legally binding order and only on specificaccounts, after the Washington Post reported U.S. securityagencies had access to its central servers.

The Post reported on Thursday the U.S. National SecurityAgency and the FBI were "tapping directly into the centralservers of nine leading U.S. Internet companies" - includingMicrosoft - through a highly classified program known as PRISM,extracting audio, video, photographs, emails, documents andconnection logs.

Microsoft made no mention of the PRISM program in astatement released after the Post report, and denied it was partof any voluntary data collection mechanism.

"We provide customer data only when we receive a legallybinding order or subpoena to do so, and never on a voluntarybasis," Microsoft said in the emailed statement.

"In addition we only ever comply with orders for requestsabout specific accounts or identifiers. If the government has abroader voluntary national security program to gather customerdata we don't participate in it."